After a tumultuous year for the UK’s renewable energy sector, we look at our most read stories to decide what 2024’s biggest industry news was.
Octopus launches V2G tariff
In February, Octopus Energy (which was this year confirmed as the biggest UK electricity supplier) launched the first mass-market vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tariff in the UK, guaranteeing free charging for electric vehicle (EV) owners who sell the power from their cars’ batteries back to the grid during peak hours.
Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, sat down with Current± to discuss the development of this technology, how it can be applied to the UK’s current EV landscape and what the implications will be once it is widely adopted.
V2G is by now a well-known (if not well-established) technology that offers cost savings for EV owners and grid balancing to support the wider energy transition.
Read the full interview with Schoch here.
Cornwall Insight reduces power price forecast for rest of the decade
In April, energy consultancy Cornwall Insight’s Q1 Power Curve predicted a drop in power prices could extend to the end of the decade. While forecasts remained higher than historic averages, the optimistic outlook was well received.
It is no surprise, then, that subsequent projections from the firm relating to the energy price cap were also popular with readers. In November, Cornwall Insight forecast that the price cap would once again increase in January, reflecting a volatile wholesale market, although prices have stabilised compared to the previous two years.
At the time, the consultancy suggested April’s price cap could fall, however more recent analysis suggests the price cap will increase further in April 2025 owing to market volatility and price cap reforms.
Coverage of Cornwall Insight’s Power Price Curve is available here.
UK to get European-style ‘solar subscription’
Norwegian-based solar marketplace Otovo launched its solar subscription product in the UK, aiming to “democratise access to solar” in March this year.
Financing models like subscriptions and leasing are proven to accelerate solar adoption, particularly among those who aren’t top earners. This pattern has been seen in the US, where similar models have driven growth in recent years.
Since the service launched this year, the snap general election saw the Labour party come out in front, pledging to unleash a rooftop solar revolution. The current government’s definitively pro-solar stance appeared likely to up installation rates and it was suggested that ministers were looking to bring in solar-related standards for new-build properties from as soon as next year. However, the ministry for housing has wavered on whether it will mandate that all new build properties in the UK should include solar systems as standard.
Coverage of Otovo’s solar subscription is available here.
IFA Interconnector fault causes 49.2Hz frequency event
At the very top of the year, Current± reported on an interconnector fault on 22 December 2023 that caused a 49.2Hz frequency event leading to a loss of 2GW on the UK grid.
The event was caused by a fault on the IFA Interconnector that runs between France and England. Speaking exclusively to Current±, Shivam Malhotra, senior consultant at LCP Delta, explained that IFA1 is made of two completely independent bipole cables (1GW each). This means that half the cable can be on outage without affecting the other half.
On 22 December, IFA1 was already on a half outage, and this event caused a full outage due to a fault on the 2nd cable.
At the time, Roger Hollies, chief technology officer at Arenko Group, suggested that battery energy storage could have stepped in to mitigate the effect of the issue.
Read the full article here.
Batteries step in after interconnector trips
This side of the year, that is exactly what happened. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) from several firms helped the energy system recover after the NSL interconnector, which connects the UK and Norway, suddenly stopped exporting power to the UK at around 8:47 AM on 9 October.
Hollies noted how this rapid response to network disruption proved the usefulness and potential of BESS, noting: “It’s exciting to see batteries casually keeping the lights on whilst delivering diversity of activity to maximise revenue. I count nine markets and services being participated in by these 12 batteries during this 50 min window alone! This complexity is only going to continue with Quick Reserve coming online later this year, local markets expanding and more renewables coming online.”
Kraken, an offshoot of Octopus Energy, also saw BESS assets optimised through its platform jump in to help rebalance the grid during the failure of the Norwegian interconnector.
The full article, including coverage of another, unrelated interconnector trip, available to read here.
Great British Energy Bill passes through second reading
Our coverage of the various iterations of the government’s flagship Great British Energy company was popular as political obfuscation meant it was hard to get to grips with exactly what the state-owned energy company would do.
The second reading of the Great British Energy Bill in the House of Commons on 5 September set out some of the specifics: GB Energy will have a mandate to develop, own and operate clean energy assets—generating power in its own right but not functioning as a retailer.
The Great British Energy Bill, while a pivotal step in establishing Great British Energy, does little to move the project forward materially: its ‘long title’ is A Bill to make provision about Great British Energy.
According to the bill, GB Energy’s objectives are the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy produced from fossil fuels, improvements in energy efficiency, and measures to ensure the security of the supply of energy.
Looking into 2025, GB Energy is expected to work alongside industry stakeholders to help deliver the capacity targets laid out in the government’s recently published Clean Power Action Plan.
Our coverage of the GB Energy Bill reading is available to read here.
